Last night two guys got into a fight on the second floor concourse area of the Riverchase Galleria, near the entrance to Footaction. During the fight, one of the men pulled a handgun and shot the other man twice in the torso.
Two uniformed Hoover Police officers providing security at the mall were nearby and heard the gunshots.
As they moved towards the scene of the shooting, one of the officers saw a man matching the description of the shooter who was holding a pistol. The officer fired on the 21-year-old male from Hueytown. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
The first shooting victim, an 18-year-old male from Birmingham, was transported to UAB Hospital by ambulance in serious condition.
A 12-year-old girl who was an innocent bystander was also wounded by gunfire. She was transported to Children’s Hospital by a Hoover Fire Department rescue unit and is in stable condition. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case per the request of the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
Today, in the aftermath of the shooting, a pistol was found laying in Santa’s village inside the mall. It is unclear at this time whether this weapon was related to last night’s shooting.
NewsRadio 105.5 WERC will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.